Richard Asquith, VP of Global Tax Compliance at Avalara, explains upcoming changes to European Union VAT rules and how they will affect digital service providers from January 1 2015. The changes are contained within article 58 2006/122/EC of the EU VAT Directive and all 28 member states are in the process of ratifying the changes through local VAT legislation.

There are only a few weeks before another new year. Now is an opportune moment to review your tax strategy and to consider whether Dutch tax laws require your company to take action before January 1 2015. The next few weeks can also be used to prepare for anticipated new tax legislation in the Netherlands.

Public oil, gas and mining companies in the UK will now have to report what payments they make to governments on a country-by-country and project-by-project basis, after the UK became the first member state to put reporting provisions of the EU Accounting Directive into its national law this week.

November 2014

Donato Raponi, head of the European Commission’s VAT Unit, has spoken about the potential for the scope of the EU’s VAT mini one-stop shop (MOSS), which will be rolled out from January 1 2015, to be expanded further.

Singapore and the EU have concluded talks on a free trade agreement (EUSFTA) linking the two jurisdictions. The agreement was initialled in 2013, but negotiations on investment protection delayed its completion until October of this year.

The scope of the UK Patent Box regime is to be restricted after Germany and the UK reached agreement to reduce the competitive advantages it provides. The restrictions are likely to be extended to other European intellectual property (IP) tax regimes.

On November 5 the US-based International Consortium of Investigate Journalists (ICIJ) released the tax rulings of 548 corporations accused of having ‘secret tax agreements’ with Luxembourg. A follow-up piece in the Australian Financial Review went as far as to accuse the Big 4 of facilitating the agreements in an article titled ‘Big four audit firms behind global profit shifting’.

The European Commission announced its directive proposal for a common consolidated corporate tax base (CCCTB) more than three and a half years ago, on March 16 2011. Andreas Eggert discusses how the proposal has developed since then.

Tax has changed dramatically since the first issue of International Tax Review came out in November 1989. Using a selection of articles – one from each year – Ralph Cunningham and Matthew Gilleard assess how many of those changes have been reflected in the publication over the past 25 years.

The Netherlands has again ranked at the top of the European Commission’s annual study into the VAT gap – the difference between expected VAT revenue and actual revenue collected – meaning its compliance and enforcement measures are the most efficient in the region, but the EU VAT gap grew to €177 billion.

The Irish government announced in its 2015 Budget today the abolition of the so-called double-Irish structure and its intention to introduce an income-based system for the taxation of intellectual property, which it is calling a Knowledge Development Box.

Examinations of how tax systems can promote growth and the use of tax incentives in developing countries, and capacity building are all important parts of the G20’s expanding tax work, argues Jeffrey Owens, Director, Vienna University’s Global Tax Policy Centre.

Amazon has been drawn into a European Commission (EC) investigation into the tax regimes of three member states: Ireland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. The EC has said its preliminary view on Ireland is that “the tax rulings of 1990 (effectively agreed in 1991) and of 2007 in favour of the Apple group constitute state aid”.

The phrase tax haven has long conjured images of letterbox companies metres away from the golden sands and deep blue seas of Bermuda’s beaches. But is that moniker appropriate or is the stereotype shifting as European jurisdictions such as Denmark and the UK’s City of London are being stamped with the tax haven label following recent reform measures? Matthew Gilleard looks at tax competition in specific country contexts to see whether the face of tax havens is changing.

September 2014

The G20’s finance ministers have outlined their plans to minimise global tax avoidance and evasion, which are not only about completing the work of the BEPS Action Plan on time by the end of next year.

In the Finnish K Oy case on the VAT treatment of digitally published books, the ECJ ruled that if a typical consumer in the EU treats the product the same as it would a physical book then the same rate of VAT should be applied.

This week, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released its first recommendations for combating international tax avoidance. The announcements, which form part of the multilateral organisation’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) initiative, mark a major change to the global tax and transfer pricing landscape and will have an impact on multinational enterprises worldwide.

Scotland yesterday voted to remain part of the UK, with 2,001,926 “No” votes versus 1,617,989 “Yes” votes in response to the question “Should Scotland be an independent country?” The rejection of independence is being celebrated by the UK tax community, as a “Yes” vote would have caused considerable turmoil for taxpayers, advisers and authorities on both sides of the border.

At last week’s informal ECOFIN meeting in Milan, European finance ministers discussed the future of the EU financial transaction tax (FTT), but are still reluctant to divulge any substantial information about the controversial proposal.

In this exclusive article for International Tax Review, Pascal Saint-Amans and Raffaele Russo of the OECD explain how the first half of the BEPS Project's work starts the task of bringing coherence, substance and transparency to international tax rules around the world.

The Court of Appeal in London has decided the UK tax authorities should not be allowed change their defence in the Franked Investment Income Group Litigation on the issue of liability as that aspect of the case has already been finalised.

The OECD today unveiled its 2014 deliverables at the halfway stage of the multilateral organisation’s ambitious base erosion and profit shifting project, commissioned by the G20, which represents the biggest ever review of international tax rules.

The ONE campaign describes corruption involving developing countries as the $1 trillion scandal and says the G20 must implement measures such as automatic information exchange (AIE) and the transparent publication of the revenues governments receive if the organisation wants to end it.

Eveline Beer, of Küffner, Maunz, Langer, Zugmaier, explains the reasoning behind the notification of the Bavarian tax authorities that the provision of access to e-papers or e-books and the subscription to a printed version of the same product should be treated as separate services.

In an exclusive interview with International Tax Review, Werner Schuster, vice-president – head of tax at Philip Morris International (PMI), outlines the benefits of working in an in-house tax team, points out how technology is only as good as the data you input and explains why PMI does not outsource its tax functions.

August 2014

Recent attempts at tax harmonisation have struggled to take off. In Europe enhanced cooperation measures are being invoked because of the inability to find consensus. But what fate awaits the notion of a World Tax Authority (WTA)? Would it take tax harmonisation to the next level or, like the Europe-wide language of Esperanto, is this attempt at harmonisation doomed to fail? Matthew Gilleard analyses what has motivated discussion of such a concept and looks at the barriers to implementation.

In the July/August issue, Frank Schoeneborn, head of group operational transfer pricing in the finance and accounting division at Merck Group, took a retrapolative look at the country-by-country reporting standard five years into its implementation. In part two, he looks at how different functions within a multinational company are interacting with the tax team to manage reporting obligations.

Constanze Adolf, of Green Budget Europe, looks at environmental fiscal reform (EFR) in a post-crisis context, assessing the prospects for EFR to raise government revenue and promote the polluter-pays principle.

David Spencer, of the Law Offices of David Spencer in New York, analyses the recent work of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and assesses its growing influence in the area of international taxation.

With financial institutions struggling to deal with an abundance of new regulation, a new report urges the new EU Commission and Parliament to focus on growth, rather than implementing a badly designed tax that could spell disaster for the European economy.

Between 1983 and 2004 there were 29 inversion transactions out of the US. In the decade following, almost 50 companies restructured using the method. With foreign profits trapped offshore by an outdated, worldwide system which would hit them with a tax on repatriation, as well as a high tax rate, the temptation to consider an inversion is proving too much for US companies, particularly those in the highly-mobile pharmaceuticals sector. Whatever the motivation, inversions are in vogue. ITR’s special report looks at the knock-on impacts of the current wave of inversions, including shareholder pressure to consider an option they see their rivals pursuing and the possible inflammation of the tax morality debate in the US. We also bring you exclusive insight as to why Danaher is not looking to invert.

In part two of International Tax Review’s exclusive interview, Steven Ouwerkerk, global head of tax & treasury at APM Terminals, based in the Netherlands, discusses the transition from adviser to in-house professional, analyses the challenges an in-house tax team faces, and stresses the importance of thinking divergently to find creative solutions.

July 2014

After the failure of the Pfizer-AstraZeneca transaction at the end of May, the two companies have now announced new deals with other companies. But the two drugs companies could return to the proposed inversion deal later this year.

The UK Parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee wants reduced VAT rates on recycled goods in order to encourage businesses to be less wasteful and promote reuse, but EU VAT agreements stand in their way.

In the first part of International Tax Review's exclusive interview, Steven Ouwerkerk, global head of tax & treasury at APM Terminals, based in The Hague, Netherlands, talks about the need for in-house tax teams to maintain consistent engagement with the boardroom and CFO, and reveals what it is that keeps him up at night.

A recent report criticising Ireland’s economic growth plan – initially labelled as coming from the German Bundestag Finance Committee – has caused controversy and tension in Irish-German relations, but an analysis of the facts shows the report does not wholly represent German attitudes towards Ireland.

EXCLUSIVE: On Monday July 21 the OECD released the full version of the Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information in Tax Matters, which requires financial institutions to report detailed financial account information to their governments, which then exchange such information automatically with other jurisdictions on an annual basis. The Standard developed by OECD in response to a mandate by the G20 was first presented to and endorsed by the G20 Finance Ministers in February 2014.

Oil and gas exploration company, Tullow Oil, has lost a case in the Ugandan Tax Appeals Tribunal (TAT) over a disputed capital gains tax (CGT) assessment of almost $500 million. The tribunal questioned the legality of a CGT exemption granted by the country’s former energy minister.

As excise taxes become increasingly important sources of revenue for national governments around the world, Arthur Laffer explains why countries must retain fiscal sovereignty when setting rates on products such as tobacco.

The OECD today unveiled the full version of the new global standard for automatic exchange of information between jurisdictions, which will be presented to the meeting of G20 finance ministers in Cairns, Australia on September 20 and 21.

The European Commission’s pilot scheme looks to improve the framework for resolving cross-border VAT disputes, and while the project is making some positive strides in harmonising EU VAT, it requires better communication if it is to succeed.

The popularity of corporate inversion transactions has grown considerably in the past few years, with notable examples including Medtronic-Covidien, Actavis-Warner Chilcott, Elan-Perrigo and Liberty Global-Virgin Media. Now shareholders in US companies are asking: “If our rivals are doing this, is it something we should be considering?”

EU member states are not entitled to a share of the fees, in the form of capital duty, from the work carried out by one of its notaries to convert a capital company into a different type of capital company, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has decided.

The IMF has stirred up the debate on the global tax system in an important new staff paper, "Spillovers in International Corporate Taxation", which quantifies the knock-on effects of tax competition and shows that the tax bases of developing countries are particularly badly hurt by it.

The UK tourism industry received a boost this week as politicians came out in support of the Cut Tourism VAT campaign to reduce VAT on the sector. It has emerged that EU approval is not needed to go ahead with a cut, which could raise £4 billion and which would bring the UK’s rate on tourism more into line with the rest of Europe.

The OECD’s project on providing ways to tackle base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) is at the forefront of the minds of tax directors and other stakeholders all over the world right now. But different jurisdictions have different approaches and different agendas in terms of what they want OECD outcomes to look like.

With accusations of cosying up to multinationals and engaging in a race to the bottom, there is an assumption that tax competition is bad. But panellists at the Oxford Business School’s Summer Conference on Tax Competition and BEPS questioned whether the perception matches reality.

Devising appropriate rules for the taxation of the digital economy is one of the most awkward challenges governments have set for themselves in the BEPS project, especially when defining the digital economy is an issue in itself. Aaran Fronda looks at the possible outcomes of the discussion.

Mismatches create opportunities. This is true in any scenario, whether it is the opportunity for a fleet-footed and nimble winger to gain an advantage by exposing the bulky, flat-footed front-row rugby forward who has temporarily become his opposite man, or whether it is in the (equally ruck-filled) field of tax planning. Matthew Gilleard looks at where the OECD is drawing the line when it comes to activity that takes advantage of tax law mismatches in an intended or acceptable manner, and that which is not.

The OECD’s base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) project has been a bone of contention in the transfer pricing arena ever since its inception, with concerns from taxpayers piling up despite constant efforts at reassurance. Sophie Harding discusses taxpayers’ most burning concerns and explores whether the OECD’s BEPS proposals are actually feasible.

June 2014

Christian Aid, ActionAid, Global Witness and the Financial Transparency Coalition have accused G8 countries of failing to live up to the promises they made on tax and transparency a year ago at the Lough Erne summit in Northern Ireland.

BEPS has taken centre stage in global transfer pricing over the past year and recent debates have focused on country-by-country reporting, among other things. The issue of profit shifting has consequently been a strong theme in this year's transfer pricing supplement, but readers can also get the latest updates on supply chain management and insights into regulation changes from a jurisdictional perspective.

The launch of an in-depth investigation by Joaquín Almunia, EU Competition Commissioner, into tax authority decisions relating to transfer pricing arrangements in Ireland, the Netherlands and Luxembourg brings a new dynamic to the debate on harmful tax competition. The timing of the investigation is unfortunate, given the reporting timeframe for the OECD’s BEPS and Ireland's active participation in that debate.

Just a day after the EU Commission announced it would investigate whether the Netherlands breached European state aid rules in its tax treatment of Starbucks, that country updated its guidelines on advance tax rulings (ATRs), advance pricing agreements (APAs) and substance requirements.

The European Commission has opened formal state aid investigations into three tax rulings agreed between Apple, Fiat and Starbucks with the Irish, Luxembourg and Netherlands tax authorities, respectively.

Political uncertainty in Crimea is reflected in the tax market, and this has resulted in a variety of approaches by Crimean entities. The majority of these are considered short term, damage-control strategies. Re-registration with Russia is now a popular option for companies with material assets in Crimea, though this practice could bring political fallout with Ukraine.

From January 2015, place of supply rules will change and a one-stop service for VAT registration will be introduced for suppliers of digital services in the EU. Companies do not have long to ensure that critical functions, such as their ERP systems, can cope.

The reverse-charge-scheme is only applicable to supplies to property developers where the property developer uses the received construction work directly for such a supply itself, explains Robert Hammerl of KMLZ.

Revenue recently published their annual report for 2013. The report sets out some of the major trends in terms of Revenue’s audit and enforcement activity in Ireland, during 2013. Outlined below is a summary of some of the key points raised in the report.

May 2014

To say that the European financial transaction tax (FTT) has been controversial would be an understatement. From its inception in September 2011, the EU proposal has been met with vitriol from some in the financial sector, who argue that the tax will pilfer pensions and wreak havoc on the European economy, while others have championed it as the solution to the eurozone crisis, labelling it the ‘Robin Hood Tax’. It also has the added advantage of appeasing a politically disillusioned electorate by promising to land a decisive blow to bankers, who in the public’s view caused the mess in the first place. Aaran Fronda dissects this divisive tax.

International business expansions can substantially increase the bottom line, but this outcome is largely dependent on establishing an efficient structure that helps to ensure financial success. Lee Sheehan, head of tax at Radius, looks at the importance of a clear strategy when setting up tax structures for specific business locations, and points out some of the landmines to avoid along the way.

The increased diversification of the digitised economy presents a major challenge for BEPS initiatives. Lack of a permanent establishment (PE) had led to debate over where tax should be applied, even where a digital entity is not practising a tax avoidance strategy. The prospect of amended tax legislation to address this has raised concerns over the increased risk of double taxation, and a regulatory burden on multinationals.

An assertion from an academic who has advised David Cameron, the UK Prime Minister, that tax avoidance is "disgusting" and should be discouraged, a plea from a finance director for more cooperative compliance and a warning that the failure of the BEPS project could lead to a series of unilateral actions on cross-border tax rules, made for a lively debate at the tax competition and cooperation conference convened by the Lord Mayor of London on Wednesday.

April 2014

The tax authorities consider subsidies for canteens operated by a caterer not to constitute remuneration for the operation of the canteen. Ronny Langer of KÜFFNER MAUNZ LANGER ZUGMAIER explains how the court’s view on this differs.

David Cameron, UK Prime Minister, wants all British overseas territories to follow the UK in publishing a central registry of beneficial ownership information. Tax transparency is undoubtedly increasing, but this latest move has raised concerns that, if implemented, foreign investment into the UK would suffer.

French authorities have released draft guidelines for legislation enacted at the end of December targeting hybrid mismatch arrangements, an aspect of international tax practice the OECD is also seeking to tackle as part of its BEPS Action Plan.

In a move that could bring the political discussion to a head much sooner than expected, The European Court of Justice has brought forward its ruling on the UK’s challenge to the proposed EU financial transaction tax (FTT). The decision is now expected next Wednesday, April 30.

A survey of chief executive officers about the global economy has produced a number of headline-grabbing figures about their attitudes to tax, such as a surprising high level of support for country-by-country reporting, which would require them to disclose their companies’ income, profit and tax in each country in which they operate.

The OECD has published stakeholder responses to its discussion draft on Action Point 6 of the BEPS Action Plan, which deals with treaty abuse. Funds and asset managers are calling for disparate treatment of collective investment vehicles (CIVs), while others are urging the OECD to reconsider its treaty preamble.

With two decisions of December 11 2013 the Federal Fiscal Court has, apart from its question on the input VAT deduction of holding companies (see ITR Indirect Tax newsletter of April 9 2014), referred questions on VAT groups to the ECJ (C-108/14 and C-109/14), writes Hendrik Marchal of KÜFFNER MAUNZ LANGER ZUGMAIER

It is not a global information reporting network yet, but the US Treasury and Internal Revenue Service’s announcement this week that increases the number of intergovernmental agreements for the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) from 26 to 48 in one go brings that idea much closer.

The separation of a (taxable) intra-Community self-supply from a (non-taxable) temporary transfer of goods is of high practical importance. Often this decides if there is an obligation to VAT register in another EU member state. The ECJ (judgment of March 6 2014 – C-606/12 and C-607/12 – Dresser-Rand SA) has now decided on the conditions according to article 17 paragraph 2 letter f of the VAT Directive. Christian Salder of KÜFFNER MAUNZ LANGER ZUGMAIER reports.

March 2014

Algirdas Semeta, European Commissioner for Taxation, Customs Union, Audit and Anti-Fraud, has proven himself to be an ambitious reformer over the past four years. As Semeta approaches the end of his term, Salman Shaheen speaks to him about his greatest achievements, and what he wants to do before he leaves Brussels.

Corporate tax reporting in an era of exchange of information is still uncertain, but, as Samantha Merle, Sumeet Hemkar and Katrina Dautrich-Reynolds, of Taxand explain, taxpayers can still take steps to prepare for the introduction of new regulations.

Frank Schoeneborn, head of global operational transfer pricing in the finance and accounting division at Merck Group with headquarters in Germany, looks at the practical problems in the implementation of operational transfer prices, illustrating the new tax risks stemming from these problems and showing how holistic management can be the solution.

After Luxembourg and Austria removed their longstanding veto to the move, the European Council this week strengthened EU rules on exchange of information on savings income, meaning member states will be better equipped to stamp out cases of tax fraud and tax evasion.

The European Commission has been busy reforming the EU’s VAT system and trying to introduce a financial transaction tax (FTT). In an exclusive interview with Salman Shaheen, Algirdas Semeta, European Commissioner for Taxation, Customs Union, Audit and Anti-Fraud discusses the latest progress.

The European Commission claimed that the proposals in its 2012 Green Paper would help to standardise the EU’s system of VAT and recover lost revenue. However, the document has failed to deliver, a conference of indirect tax specialists was told last week.

Chile and Finland have become the 23rd and 24th jurisdictions to sign bilateral intergovernmental agreements (IGA) to implement the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) as the US moves slowly towards signing more than 50 with jurisdictions around the world.

International Tax Review spoke to Chris Needham, global VAT director at GE, about his hopes for EU VAT reform and why he fears that the standard VAT return may not turn out to be the panacea that is promised.

The Netherlands and other EU member states could be forced into changing their tax legislation if the European Court of Justice (ECJ) confirms an Advocate General's view in cases relating to whether Dutch companies can freely establish fiscal unities with members of the same group.

February 2014

The US tax reform discussion draft from Dave Camp, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, achieves two key goals for business, says John Engler, the leader of one of America’s most influential employers’ organisations: a corporate tax rate of 25% and a modern tax system.

Alcoa’s operations in Europe, Middle East and Africa run from Norway in the north of the region to South Africa in the south. It is a wide area of responsibility for the EMEA tax department of the global engineering and manufacturing company, which makes it crucial that when it uses external advisers, it finds the right ones to help it contribute to the company’s objectives.

Last year saw the pace of tax policy changes across the world step up a gear. But the tax revolution is far from complete. From BEPS to US corporate tax reform and the EU financial transaction tax, many of the key initiatives that dominated the headlines in 2013 will continue to gather pace in 2014.

Algirdas Šemeta, the European Commissioner for Taxation, Customs Union, Audit and Anti-Fraud has expressed concern that the financial transaction tax (FTT), despite receiving majority support from MEPs and voters, has been hindered by excessive criticism from lobbyists in Brussels.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has decided, in the Hervis Sport case, that a turnover tax that disadvantages linked undertakings, within a group, to companies established in another member state constitutes indirect discrimination.

As non-EU based businesses broaden their markets and their offerings, businesses are increasingly finding that the indirect tax consequences of selling into the EU, the US and Australia create potential barriers to smooth international trading, explain Richard Woolich, Hugh Goodwin, and Matthew Cridland of DLA Piper.

Ensuring that their company’s interests are protected as tax policy takes shape is not an easy task, but is an essential one for any tax director. However, the choice of representative or industry organisation to align with to achieve that, is not always obvious, explains Ralph Cunningham.

As non-EU based businesses broaden their markets and their offerings, they are increasingly finding that the indirect tax consequences of selling into the EU, the US and Australia create potential barriers to smooth international trading, explain Richard Woolich, Hugh Goodwin, and Matthew Cridland of DLA Piper.

Patrick Connolly is an experienced senior in-house tax adviser who has spent the past 10 years in in-house regional tax roles covering Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Asia/Pacific regions as well as head office tax responsibilities. He shares his views on getting the most value from the client/adviser relationship. Paul Dunne, national managing tax partner for KPMG New Zealand and the tax lead on a number of multinational clients, provides his response and comments.

Seth Terkper, Ghana’s minister of finance, and Hafiz Choudhury, senior adviser, International Tax and Investment Centre, discuss the challenges for developing countries in creating tax systems that raise enough revenue to fund development and also encourage investment.

Spain should have to pay the European Commission €50 million ($68 million) and the costs of the case for failing to implement a European Court of Justice (ECJ) decision against tax incentives in good time.

Algirdas Semeta, European Commissioner for Taxation and Customs Union, Audit and Anti-Fraud, has urged member states not to water down proposals for a financial transactions tax (FTT), arguing that present delays may be instead overcome by a phased implementation of the tax.

Some of Europe's biggest taxpayers are concerned about the increased risk of double taxation from Poland’s proposed changes to its controlled foreign corporation (CFC) rules and thin capitalisation regime.

A report from BUSINESSEUROPE reinforces the business community’s claims that double taxation outside of the area of transfer pricing remains a significant problem. At the October meeting of the European Commission’s Platform for Tax Good Governance, EU member states had claimed the issue was no longer relevant.

Norbert Walter-Borjans, finance minister for North Rhine-Westphalia, has repeated his claim that Germany must act unilaterally to target multinational tax avoidance through BEPS (base erosion and profit shifting) if insufficient progress has been made through multilateral efforts by the time autumn arrives.

Italy’s parliament has passed the Google tax which will require companies to buy internet advertisements from locally-registered companies and not from companies based in tax havens including Bermuda and Ireland. But the proposal may violate EU laws on non-discrimination regarding commercial activity.